Newsletter excerpts: 10 New Research Articles on Fascia May 2019

Archive for massage

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my May newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on fascia information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES and ARTICLES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about fascia. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. A blog article titled, Fascia as a Proprioceptive Organ and its relationship to Chronic Pain, by Dr. Russell Schierling, offers several important concepts:

The normal stretching of fascia thus communicates the force fo the muscle contraction and the status of the muscle regarding its tone, movement, rate of change in muscle length, and position of the associated body part to the central nervous system.

…muscle spindles, the chief proprioceptive cell affecting our muscles, are not in the muscle, but in the fascia surrounding the muscle and its muscle bundles.

An abundant innervation of the fascia consisting in both free nerve endings and encapsulated receptors, in particular, Ruffini and Pacini corpuscles

3. A study, Attenuation of postoperative adhesions using a modeled manual therapy, published at PLOS One, concludes: Maintained movements of damaged structures in the immediate postoperative period has potential to act as an effective preventive for attenuating cohesive postoperative adhesion development.

4. An article titled, Expression of the endocannabinoid receptors in human fascial tissue, published at Fascia & Fitness, discussed a study from the Stecco group at the University of Padova in Italy published in the European Journal of Histochemistry, and confirms the presence of cannabinoids receptors in fascia.

5. A blog article, Questions to Consider for Myofascial Therapy by Whitney Lowe, points out the results of a study from 2002 that has largely been ignored: There is negligible friction between the skin and this underlying fascial tissue. This should result in several techniques being questioned.

6. A blog post, Fascia Micro Trauma may Contribute to DOMS, posted on Fascia & Fitness, proposes: increased sensitivity of muscle fascia to the stimulus (acupuncture needle) suggesting the source of pain is fascia rather than the muscle fibers themselves.

7. A peer-reviewed article, The Awareness of the Fascial System, published on Cureus, is a great overview of how fascia functions, offering “new perspectives to understand what happens during palpatory contact. A fascial cell has not only memory but also the awareness of the mechanometabolic information it feels, and it has the anticipatory predisposition in preparing itself for alteration of its natural environment.

8. An article titled, Anatomy of the Superficial Fascia System of the Breast: A Comprehensive Theory of Breast Fascial Anatomy, published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Nov 2018, concludes: the breast is shaped by a three-dimensional, fibrofatty fascial system. Two layers of this system surround the corpus mammae and fuse together around it, and anchor it to the chest wall in a structure we have called the circummammary ligament.

9. An article, Fascia is Able to Actively Contract and May Thereby Influence Musculoskeletal Dynamics: A Histochemical and Mechanographic Investigation, published in Front. Physical. Apr 2019, concludes: tension of myofascial tissue is actively regulated by myofibroblasts with the potential to impact active musculoskeletal dynamics

10. A study titled, Roller Massage: Comparison of three different surface type pattern foam rollers on passive knee range of motion and pain pereption, published in Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies May 2019, concludes: The GRID and multilevel surface rollers produced greater immediate post-intervention effects than the smooth roller. The therapeutic effects of the GRID and multilevel rollers may be due to the surface architecture. These rollers may provide a greater deformation of the tissues which creates a local mechanical and global neurophysiological effect.

VIDEOS

What is Fascia? Animation of how new research changes the way we look at pain.

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my March newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on lymph and lymphatic drainage information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES and ARTICLES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about lymph and lymphatic drainage. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. A paper titled Face Lift Postoperative Recovery, published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in 2002 provided the following information: After the skin is lifted, the drainage flow to the flaps is reversed abruptly toward the medial part of the face, where the flap bases are located. The thickness and extension of the flap determine the magnitude of the post-op edema, which is also augmented by medial surgeries (blepharo, rhino) whose trauma obstruct their natural drainage, increasing the congestion and edema…Seven days after the facelift we observed no absorption by the lymphatic, concluding that a week after surgery, the lymphatic network was still damaged…In the post-op, the manual lymphatic drainage is initiated on the third or fifth day in a method contrary to that specified in the books for non-operative individuals.

2. An article published on Stanford Medicine’s website, titled Anti-inflammatory drug effective for treating lymphedema symptomsstates: two small clinical trials showed that ketoprofen, an inflammation-reducing drug available by prescription, can effectively treat symptoms of lymphedema and help ease the daily burden of care. “Ketoprofen restores the health and elasticity of the skin…I believe it will reduce recurrent infection. It can also reduce swelling.”

3. A study, The lymphatic pathway in neurological disorders, published in The Lancet: Neurology Nov 2018, states: several features of the lymphatic and meningeal lymphatic systems have been shown to be present in humans…human lymphatic pathway might also be primarily active during sleep.

4. An article, titled The Meningeal Lymphatic System: A New Player in Neurophysiology, gives a thorough explanation and history of the discovery of this system and its implications in disease and treatment.

5. A study, titled Effect of taping as treatment to reduce breast cancer lymphedema: literature review and published in J Vasc Bras in Apr-2018, concluded:Taping is a complementary therapy for reducing lymphedema, which may be used as an alternative treatment method, but cannot substitute multilayer compression therapy.

6. A study, Does Exercise Have a preventive effect on Secondary Lymphedema in Breast Cancer Patients following local treatment?-A systematic Reviewpublished in Breast Care (Basel) in Oct 2018 concluded: all 8 studies included indicate a potential preventive effect of exercise on Secondary Lymphedema.

7. An article titled The CNS Immune-Privilege Goes Down the Drain(age), published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences in Jan 2019, reviews several studies on the lymphatic role in the nervous system and concludes: … the work from Lauveau et al represents a landmark study for neuroimmunology research. It is now essential to understand how meningeal lymphatics promote the encephalitogenic potential of auto-reactive T cells and whether the brain’s lymphatic drainage may represent a feasible therapeutic target for neuroinflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

8. A study titled The effectiveness of manual lymphatic drainage and low level laser in the treatment of a client with lipedema: an N-of-1 trial, published in Australian Tradition-Medicine Society in 2018, concluded: pain decreased over the duration of the trial, however, there was no discernible difference between using active of sham laser with MLD…

9. An article, titled Manual lymphatic drainage in chronic venous disease: a forgotten weapon in our armory, published in Indian Journal of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery in 2018, concludes: MLD is an important adjunct in the treatment of advanced Chronic Venous Insufficiency.

10. A study titled Acute Cardiovascular Responses to the application of manual lymphatic drainage in different body regions, published in Lymphatic Research and Biology in Dec 2018 concluded: MLD practice caused different hemodynamic responses according to body region in a sample of 30 healthy individuals. The results show a decrease in SBP (systolic blood pressure) after neck, abdominal, and leg MLD and lower HRs (heart rate) after arm drainage. DBP (diastolic blood pressure) values decreased after neck and leg MLD and showed an increase after abdominal MLD. These findings support further investigation of the roles of the circulatory system, nervous system, hormonal system, and kidneys to better inform the practice of MLD and our understanding of its effects.

RESOURCES

Real Bodywork (Sean Riel) offers courses, DVD”s and poster for the lymphatic system and lymphatic drainage.

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my January newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on chronic pain and fibromyalgia information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES and ARTICLES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about chronic pain problems. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. An article titled Myofascial Pelvic Pain: Rationale and Treatment published in Current Bladder Dysfunction Reports in Mar 2015, states: Chronic pelvic pain, in its many forms, commonly has a myofascial component that must be considered in the evaluation and treatment of women and men seeking medical care. ..Myofascial pelvic pain can develop as a result of a trigger point within the pelvic floor musculature or from extra-pelvic muscles that can refer into the pelvic region. Identification and appropriate therapeutic management of the myofascial trigger points is paramount to successful treatment of the pain and symptoms associated with chronic pelvic pain.

2. An article titled Chronic, non-visceral abdominal pain, published in Gut: British Medical Journal in 1994 gives a great explanation of an assessment tool known as Carnett’s Sign, which helps determine if abdominal pain is visceral or from the abdominal wall.

3. An article titled Fascia, Proprioception, and Chronic Pain by Dr. Schierling and published on his blog, cites a number of research articles regarding the relationship between fascia and spindle cells, Ruffini and Pacini corpuscles andGolgii organs. Some important points from the article:

“…muscle spindles, the chief proprioceptive cell affecting our muscles, are not in the muscle, but in the fascia surrounding the muscle and its muscle bundles…

“…abundant innervation of the fascia consisting of both free nerve endings and encapsulated receptors, in particular, Ruffini and Pacini corpuscles.”

“ …hypothesis that the fascia plays an important role in proprioception, especially dynamic proprioception…”

“…now recognized that fascial network is one of our richest sensory organs.”

4. A study titled Analgesic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review, published in Ten Primary Jul 2018, concluded: Treatment with TENS is effective for reducing pain in people with fibromyalgia. In addition, the inclusion of TENS in therapeutic exercise programs seems to have a greater effect than practicing therapeutic exercise in isolation.

5. A study titled Effects of vitamin D optimization on quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial, published in Med J Islam Repub Iran in Apr 2018, concludes: …vitamin D supplementation has significant therapeutic benefits in the management of FMS especially in pain reduction.

6. A study titled Effects of Sleep Fragmentation and Induced Mood on Pain Tolerance and Pain Sensitivity in Young Healthy Adults, published in Front. Psychol Oct 2018 concluded: Experimental research exploring the sleep pain relationship has typically focused on total or partial sleep deprivation, hereby failing to reproduce the more fragmented sleep pattern typically observed in patients with chronic pain…this study suggests that even one night of fragmented sleep has a negative impact on the perception of pain intensity, but not pain tolerance or pain inhibition.

7. A study, titledThe effect of cryotherapy on fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical trial carried out in a cryosauna cabin and published in Rheumatology International, Dec 2018, concluded: Whole Body Cryotherapy during 3 weeks appears to produce a beneficial effect compared to no cold treatment in terms of pain and impact of disease in Fibromyalgia.

8. A study titled A systematic review of the effects of strength training in patients with fibromyalgia: clinical outcomes and design considerations, published in Advances in Rheumatology Oct 2018 concludes: The main results included reduction in pain, fatigue, number of tender points, depression, and anxiety, with increased functional capacity and quality of life. Current evidence demonstrates that Strength Training is beneficial and can be used to treat Fibromyalgia.

9. A study titled Effects of dance on pain in patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis, published in Evid Based Complement Alternat Med in Oct2018, concludes: dance-based intervention programs can be an effective intervention for people suffering from fibromyalgia, leading to a significant reduction of the level of pain with an effect size the can be considered as large.

10. A study titled Fibromyalgia: Increased reactivity of the muscle membrane and a role of central regulation, published in Clinical Neurophysiology in Jan 2019 concludes: …muscle membrane propagation speed increases independently of the force load or amount of muscle activity produced. When adopting a limb position, the patients show an augmented muscle membrane reaction, suggesting deregulation from higher neural centers.

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my December newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on shoulder and rotator cuff information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES, ARTICLES, and RESOURCES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about neck problems. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. A review article, titled Are manual therapies, passive physical modalities, or acupuncture effective for the management of patients with whiplash-associated disorders or neck pain and associated disorders? An update of the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders by the OPTIMa collaboration, published in Spine J in Dec 2016, concluded: our review…suggests that mobilization, manipulation, and clinical massage are effective interventions for the management of neck pain. It also suggests that electroacupuncture, strain-counterstrain, relaxation massage, and some passive physical modalities (heat, cold, diathermy, hydrotherapy, and ultrasound) are not effective and should not be used to manage neck pain.

2. A study, published J Manipulative Physiol Ther in Oct 2016, titled The Treatment of Neck Pain-Associated Disorders and Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Clinical Practice Guideline concludes: a multimodal approach including manual therapy, self-management advice, and exercise is an effective treatment strategy for both recent-onset and persistent neck pain.

3. A study published in J Bodyw Mov Ther in April 2017, titled The local and referred pain patterns of the longus colli muscle found: the pain referral pattern during deep massage and needling of the longus colli was primarily local, with referral to the ipsilateral ear and lateral to the ipsilateral eye. Some subjects reported pain on the contralateral side of the neck.

4. A study, Comparing Trigger Point Dry Needling and Manual Pressure Technique for the Mangement of Myofascial Neck/Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial published in J Manipulative Physiol Ther in Jan 2017, concluded: both treatment techniques lead to short-term and long-term treatment effects. Dry needling was found to be no more effective than MP in the treatment of myofascial neck/shoulder pain.

5. A study, Comparison of isometric cervical flexor and isometric cervical extensor system exercises on patients with neuromuscular imbalance and cervical crossed syndrome associated forward head posture published in Biomed Mater Eng in 2018, concluded: compelling, mechanistic evidence as to how Isometric cervical extensor system exercise is more beneficial for the restoration of neuromuscular imbalance than isometric cervical flexor system exercise in individuals with cervical crossed syndrome.

6. A study, Effectiveness of the Pilates Method in the Treatment of chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation In Sept 2018, concludes: this trial demonstrated the effectiveness of the Pilates method for the treatment of chronic mechanical neck pain, resulting in improvement of pain, function, quality of life, and reduction of the use of analgesics.

7. A study published at ScienceDirect—Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, titled The effectiveness of kinesio taping on pain, range of motion and disability in patients with chronic neck pain: A randomized controlled study concluded: kinesio taping in addition to conventional physiotherapy provides additional benefits in chronic neck pain.

8. A study in International Journal of Basic and Applied Research titled Immediate effect of muscle energy technique for upper trapezius muscle on neck pain concludes: Statistically, muscle energy technique was found to be significantly effective in reducing pain and increasing cervical range of motion.

9. A study in Middle East J Rehabil Health Stud, Oct 2018, titled Muscles recruitment Pattern in People with and without Active Upper Trapezius myofascial trigger points in the standing posture concludes: latency in the onset of muscles activity and altered muscles recruitment patterns. The altered muscles recruitment pattern may lead to changes in motor control strategies and poor control of movement. Finally, these changes can cause a poor control of movement and increase the possibility of damage to the shoulder and cervical muscles in patients with an active myofascial trigger point in the upper trapezius

10. A study, published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice and uploaded to ScienceDirect in advance of publication Feb 2019, titled The effects of qigong on neck pain: A systematic review concludes: Qigong might have a beneficial effect in some individuals with neck pain, although not necessarily more effective than therapeutic exercise.

Spine Health posted a good video on Facebook demonstrating how pain from the neck can travel to the fingers. It is a good demonstration for clients and patients.

RESOURCES

An iPhone app—Goniometer Pro measures active craniocervical ROM (ACCROM). A study done in July 2018 and published in Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation MedicineA new iPhone application for the measurement of active craniocervical range of motion in patients with nonspecific neck pain: a reliability and validity study concludes : the iPhone app possesses good reliability and high validity. It seems that this app can be used for measuring ACCROM.

REFERENCE

Management of Neck Pain Disorders: A Research Informed Approach, is now available as an ebook. Written by world-renowned researchers and clinicians in the field, the book provides a comprehensive insight into the nature of neck pain disorders within a biopsychosocial context to inform clinical reasoning. The ebook costs $46.36

Erik Dalton has a great blog post about First Rib Fixation on his website. “As a fan of Vladimir Janda’s provocative body of work, I have highlighted his research throughout my teaching and hopefully integrated his wisdom into mainstream bodywork. I’ve written extensively on aberrant postural patterns associated with his infamous upper crossed syndrome, such a protruding neck, rounded shoulders, kyphotic t-spine, jutted chin, hyperextended O-A joint, and internally rotated arms. Yet one overshadowed gem of Janda still exists—the humble pain generator deeply hidden within his upper crossed pattern—The Fixated First Rib.”

Erik Dalton shared a neck flexion test in his article Myosckeletal Techniques for Funky Necks on his Technique Tuesday blog post. “Forward bending of the head toward the chest with the client in a supine position should initiate the following firing-order sequence: longus capitis, longus colli, SCMs and anterior scalenes. The deepest intrinsic muscles must fire first starting with longus capitis (flexing the head on the neck) followed closely by longus colli, which initiates the beginning of neck flexion. The anterior scalenes and SCMs can then join forces to produce smooth head-and-neck flexion toward the chest. The commonly seen substitution pattern is SCMs, anterior scalenes, longus colli, and longus capitis. This aberrant pattern causes the chin to reach toward the ceiling rather than tucking into the chest during the first two inches of neck flexion efforts. The sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCMs) are usually reliable neck flexors when allowed to fire in proper order. However, during the head raise test they serve as poor subs for longus capitis/colli due to their insertion at the mastoid process. When longus capitis//colli are reciprocally weakened due to hypertonic suboccipitals, these deep neck flexors give way to the powerful SCMs which are forced to fire first, causing the head to cock back into extension (not flexion). The neck flexion test is positive if the chin moves toward the ceiling in the first two inches of neck flexion.

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my November newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on shoulder and rotator cuff information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES, ARTICLES, and RESOURCES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about shoulders. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. A doctoral thesis titled “Is dry cupping as effective as a traditional exercise program in reducing shoulder pain in competitive swimmers”, published on the University of New Mexico digital repository, suggests: Studies have shown that cupping may be able to decrease pain by an average of 20mm of the Visual Analog Scale. This suggests that in the painful shoulder it may be used as an adjunct to exercise therapy but should not replace it as cupping does not address the underlying impairments that swimming induces not he shoulder.

2. A study titled “The prevalence of myofascial trigger points in neck and shoulder-related disorders: a systematic review of the literature” published in BMC Musculoskelet Disord in Jul 2018, concludes: Limited evidence supporting the high prevalence of active and latent MTrPs in patients with neck or shoulder disorders. Point prevalence estimates of MTrPs were based on a small number of studies with very low sample sizes and with design limitations that increased risk of bias within included studies.

3. A study, titled “Electrical stimulation in the treatment of hemiplegic shoulder pain: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials”, published in American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in Oct 2018, concludes: ES may be an effective pain management methodology for hemiplegic shoulders and may contribute to pain-free range of external rotation as well as ADL recovery. However, these results should be interpreted with caution, given the low number of selected studies and risk of potential bias.

4. A study titled ”Effects of age and sex on shoulder biomechanics and relative effort during functional tasks” published in Journal of Biomechanics in Nov 2018, concludes: Older compared to younger adults had >40% lower isokinetic shoulder abduction strength. The ratio of peak joint torque during six ADLs over the maximal isokinetic torque, i.e., relative effort, was higher in old (approx 52%) compared with young adults (approx. 22%, p<0.05). Relative effort in older adults was over 40% in overhead activities and particularly high in abduction and reaching tasks, over 60%. Healthy older compared with younger adults perform most ADL tasks involving the shoulder joint with nearly twice the level of relative effort. The concomitant reductions in maximal shoulder isokinetic torque and increases in relative effort may be related to the high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and shoulder dysfunction in old age report in epidemiological studies.

8. A study titled “Increased risk of adhesive capsulitis among patients with gout: A nationwide population-based matched-cohort study” published in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases in Oct 2018 concludes: gout is an independent risk factor for developing Adhesive capsulitis.

9. A study titled “Diagnostic accuracy of the scapular retraction test in assessing the status of the rotator cuff” published in Orthopedic J Sport Med in Oct 2018 concludes: the SRT can accurately be used to clinically assess the status of the rotator cuff. This physical examination maneuver was found to be accurate, sensitive, and specific in diagnosing full-thickness RCTs. Additionally, our results indicate that it is equally as accurate to predict an intact rotator cuff tendon.

10. A study titled “Immediate effects of soft tissue massage on posterior shoulder muscle tightness: a preliminary study” published in Physical Therapy Kor concluded:Sort tissue massage on posterior shoulder muscle tightness is an effective method to increase acromiohumeral distance and range of motion in the horizontal adduction and internal rotation of the glenohumeral joint.

Here is some of the information I recently shared in my November newsletter. Each newsletter has a specific focus. This month is focused on foot and ankle information. If you would be interested in receiving my newsletters, please head over to my contact page and sign up.

STUDIES, ARTICLES, and RESOURCES

I receive a weekly update on anything published anywhere on the internet that includes information about feet and ankles. I try to glean the best of the information and provide a brief synopsis of the information. If you come across any information that you think would be good to share, please also feel free to pass that information along to: info@holistichealingarts.net

1. A study titled “Spinal and Peripheral dry needling versus peripheral dry needling alone among individuals with a history of lateral ankle pain: a randomized controlled trial”, published in Int J Sports Phys Ther in Dec 2017, suggests: Dry needling of the multifidi in addition to fibularis muscles does not result in improvement in strength, unilateral balance or unilateral hop test performance, compared to Dry Needling the fibularis muscles alone among individuals with a history of ankle sprain.

2. A study titled “Dry cupping for plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled trial”, published in J Phys Ther Sci in May 2017, concludes: The data indicated that both dry cupping therapy and electrical stimulation therapy could reduce pain and increase function significantly in the population tested…There was no significant difference between the dry cupping therapy and electrical stimulation groups in all the outcome measurements. These results support that both dry cupping therapy and electrical stimulation therapy could reduce pain and increase function in the population tested.

3. A study titled “Effectiveness of Myofascial Release in Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: A RCT”, published in Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, concludes: Conservative treatment approach like physiotherapy in the treatment of plantar fasciitis, is beneficial, although both the conventional treatment and myofascial release have found to be effective in alleviation of symptoms and associated disability in plantar fasciitis. However, the subjects treated with myofascial release showed an additional benefit in terms of reduction of pain on VAs and functional ability in terms of FFI. Hence it can be concluded that myofascial release is an effective therapeutic option in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.

4. Whitney Lowe’s article, Understanding Overpronation, in Massage Today in Jan 2007, gives a very good explanation of what overpronation is and the problems it can cause.

5. A study article, titled Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome: Muscles Located at the Site of Pain, published in Scientifica (Cairo) in Mar 2016, concludes: The soles and flexor digitorum longus muscless were observed to attach directly to the posteromedial border of the tibia. The tibias posterior muscle had no attachment to this site. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that if traction is the cause of MTSS then soleus and the flexor digitorum muscles and not the tibias posterior muscles are the likely cause of MTSS.

6. A study. titled “Ischemic compression and joint mobilizations or the treatment of nonspecific myofascial foot pain: findings from two quasi-experimental before-and-after studies”, published Mar 2015 in J Can Chiropr Assoc concludes: Preliminary evidence that myofascial therapy consisting of ischemic compressions and joint mobilizations may reduce the symptoms of patients suffering from chronic non-specific foot pain….Combined treatment involving ischemic compression and joint mobilization for chronic foot pain is associated with significant improvements in functional and self-perceived improvement immediately and at up to six months post-treatment.

7. A video, Metatarsal Mobilization by Whitney Lowe suggests a treatment for a common nerve entrapment problem, Morton’s neuron. The video can be found on ABMP’s facebook page.

8. A study, “Effects of myofascial trigger point release in plantar fasciitis for pain management”, published in J Med Sci in 2018, concluded: myofascial trigger point technique was seen effective in relation to improved pain in patients of plantar fasciitis.

A youtube video by Dr. Randale Sechrest, is a great 6-minute review of Ankle anatomy.

A helpful youtube video by biometrics expert Justin Price explains how to determine how the weight transfer during walking, etc, plays a role in foot pain and some simples exercises to relieve the pain.

2. Miscellaneous

1. From Gary Ward: The Great Hallux (a small rant)

If I can’t extend my toe, my heel strike will be compromised

If I can’t extend my toe, my toe-off will be compromised

If I can’t extend my toe, my pronation phase will be compromised

If I can’t extend my toe, to resupinate becomes impossible

If I can’t extend my toe, my hip extension will be comported

If I can’t extend my toe, my spinal extension will be compromised

and if I can extend my toe waaaay too much, all of the above still stands true…

If the function of your Big Toe (Great Hallux) is compromised, so is the rest of you!

Please don’t lock it in tight-fitting shoes or surgically intervene to make it more stable.

2. Per Michael McAleese: We can not keep changing the shape of our feet and expecting our feet to function like feet .. as always it is your choice